Darci O’Donnell BSN, RN

My journey in nursing began nine years ago, but my passion for birth and women’s wellness started long before. I began my career in pediatrics at Nemours before an amazing opportunity led me to The Birth Center as a per diem nurse. In 2025, I was honored to join the team full-time as the Clinical Operations Director.

My personal connection to The Birth Center is what truly inspires me. Having given birth to all three of my children,all In the yellow room at the Wilmington location, I experienced firsthand the incredible support and expertise of the midwives.

That transformative experience solidified my career path and fuels my dedication to helping and educating families throughout their pregnancy and postpartum journeys.

Kennedy Thompson BSN, RN

Meet Kennedy, a Delaware native whose journey into nursing began unexpectedly. At the age of 14, Kennedy delivered her sister’s baby in the car, on the way to Christiana Hospital! With the direction of a 911 operator on the phone, a beautiful baby girl entered the world, with Kennedy as her unexpected nurse.

The experience was transformative for Kennedy. Witnessing the miracle of birth firsthand ignited a passion within her— a calling to help others in their most vulnerable moments. After years of rigorous study, Kennedy earned her nursing degree at The University of Delaware. While at UD, Kennedy had the honor to have a clinical rotation at The Birth Center. Before coming to us, she worked at a hospital as a float pool nurse in New Hampshire. As of August 2025 Kennedy is Clinical Nurse Educator here at TBC!

Allison Murphy RN

Allison has spent the last decade of her career working in critical care, ER and pediatrics. She has had two of her children here and has loved every part of her birth center experience! The staff here is so inspiring and she feels honored that she gets to work with the wonderful individuals that helped her through her motherhood journey. She feels very grateful to be able to now provide that support and empowerment to other women.

Allison is the mother of three wonderful humans – Ace, Vivian and Fiona. In her spare time she loves to cook, run, read, go to the beach and cuddle with her dogs.

Charlotte Kelly, BSN, RN, RPYT, CHBE

Charlotte received her BS in Nursing in 1988 from Seton Hall University. Her entire career has been devoted to Maternal Infant Health. Over the years, she has worked in maternity, labor and delivery, pediatrics and as a nurse for the Nurse Family Partnership program in public health. She is also a Certified Lactation Counselor. Her passion is in walking alongside mothers during this special time in their lives. She loves to teach and help moms and families learn their own way and achieve their goals in becoming families.

In 2021, Charlotte became certified as a HypnoBirth instructor. She loved learning more about the body mind connection in class and now loves teaching it. This led her to deepen her yoga practice and knowledge and in January 2022 she began yoga teacher training under Lynn Slocomb at The Light Within Studio in West Grove, PA. She graduated after much work and study. She then completed further training to become certified as a prenatal yoga teacher!

Charlotte and her husband Kevin have seven children, ranging in age from 19-32. She understands the importance of this time of pregnancy in a woman’s life.

Brooke Stempel BSN, RN

Brooke joined The Birth Center team in 2025, bringing her dedication and passion for women’s health. After earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at the University of Delaware in 2024, Brooke gained valuable experience working in Labor and Delivery at Christiana Care. However, her deep-rooted connection to The Birth Center – where she previously volunteered and worked as a clerical assistant during college – called her back to this special place.

Brooke has always been inspired to support women during some of the most transformative moments in their lives. Her decision to specialize in women’s health stems from her love of providing care and comfort to laboring mothers and their families, as well as supporting them throughout the postpartum period.

She feels profoundly grateful to play a small yet meaningful role in such an important time in her patients’ lives and looks forward to building lasting connections with the families she serves.

Syanni Waters BSN, RN

Since childhood, Syanni has been passionate about maternal and infant health, a calling that became especially meaningful after assisting in the delivery of her youngest sister in 2020. Syanni began her nursing journey by earning her LPN in 2022 and ADN in 2023, both from Salem Community College. In Spring 2025, Syanni completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and She is now pursuing her Nurse Midwifery/Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner degree at Georgetown University with plans to finish in 2028.

Professionally, Syanni served as a med-surg nurse for three years before transitioning to The Birth Center. Alongside her nursing career, She also worked as an independent postpartum doula, where she developed a deep appreciation for supporting families during one of the most transformative times of their lives. Syannis’ goal is to continue expanding her knowledge, skills, and compassion to provide holistic, empowering care for women and families.

Outside of nursing, Syanni is a proud dog mom to her baby boy, Milo, and the oldest of seven siblings. Syanni loves spending time with family and friends, weight training, and seeking out new experiences whenever she can.

Julie Banning BSN, RN

Julie began her career in Women’s Health in 2023, just after graduating from the University of Kentucky with her BSN & obtaining her RN license. Moving to the shore shortly after, she started her career in a rural hospital, where she was cross-trained in Labor, Delivery, Postpartum, Nursery care, and OR circulation, there she remained for 2 years before starting her journey at The Birth Center in 2025. Julie believes that being apart of someone’s birth story is one of the most rewarding experiences, and feels privileged that this is her career. “You will forget a lot of your interactions with nurses and doctors in your life, but no one, no one, forgets their birth story. So, if I have the privilege to be apart of someone’s, I am going to do everything in my power to make that memory a good one, because everyone deserves that.”

Julie became an Aunt at a very young age & therefore has been around babies and kids for the majority of her life. When her 5th niece was born with special abilities & had to stay in the NICU for a time, Julie realized her calling was working in this field delivering passionate care to moms and their babies. Through that experience, and navigating her own health as a women with PCOS, Julie found a passion in the specialty and therefore pursued her degree in nursing.

Now a mother herself, Julie continues to strive to obtain as much knowledge and skill as possible in order to give her patients all there is to offer to have a safe, healthy, wonderful birth, and positive memories that will last a lifetime. “You should always leave people better than you found them” is Julie’s motto for care, and she is so excited to bring all that she has to offer to The Birth Center & all the tiny humans to come.

Shawna Brewer Ray BSN, RN

Shawna began her nursing journey at Cecil College, graduating in 2019 before starting her career in the Level 3 Neonatal ICU at Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC). She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Towson University in 2021.

Over the years, Shawna has attended countless high-risk deliveries. For the past year, she has expanded her expertise by rotating to the Labor and Delivery unit as a Delivery Room Assistant Nurse. This role has been invaluable, allowing her to sharpen her assessment skills for both healthy and medically fragile infants.

Shawna’s passion for maternal-child health is fueled by her own experiences as a mother to four children: Aubrey, Matthew, Brooks, and Bryson. While her eldest, Aubrey, was born in a hospital, Shawna sought a different experience for her second pregnancy. In October 2022, she gave birth to Matthew in the “Purple Room” at The Birth Center.

“That experience was life-changing. The care I received throughout my pregnancy and postpartum journey was both empowering and refreshing.”

Two years later, Shawna’s family grew again with the arrival of her twins. Her personal journey through pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period—including the unique challenges of a twin pregnancy—allows her to meet patients exactly where they are.

While she continues to serve as a NICU nurse at GBMC, Shawna is honored to be part of the team at The Birth Center. To her, nursing in the maternal-child world is a humbling vocation. She finds her greatest joy in building meaningful relationships with families during some of the most vulnerable and transformative moments of their lives.

Kamdyn Jones BSN,RN

Kamdyn received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from La Salle University in Philadelphia. She began her nursing career in Labor & Delivery at ChristianaCare before continuing her journey at John’s Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital, a high-volume Labor & Delivery unit in Washington, D.C. She currently also works PRN in the Special Delivery Unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, caring for mothers with high-risk pregnancies and their babies.

Kamdyn is currently pursuing her Master of Science in Nursing at Thomas Jefferson University to become a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. Her passion has always been women’s health, and she feels honored to care for women through pregnancy, birth, and every stage of their reproductive journey. She is committed to providing compassionate, evidence-based care while helping patients feel informed, supported, and empowered throughout their healthcare experience.

Outside of nursing, Kamdyn enjoys traveling to new states and countries, reading, and spending quality time with her family and friends. She is excited to be part of The Birth Center team and looks forward to building lasting relationships with the families she has the privilege to care for.

Erin Lelko BSN, RN

Erin spent most of her life surrounded by the medical field – it wasn’t until she headed to Africa on a medical mission trip that she quickly realized nursing was her passion. It was there she learned to care for the whole person (mind, body, spirit) and how to achieve the optimal well-being of a patient. She received her BSN through Neumann University, where her passion for women’s health and maternal medicine was cultivated through involvement in the Social Justice Committee. In 2017 she began her first job with Penn Medicine, Womens and Babies Hospital as a postpartum nurse. Only to confirm her passion for delivery, postpartum, and lactation care. In 2019 she joined Bayada Home Health Pediatrics to widen her view of community nursing. The bustle of the hospital left her longing to spend time with patients and to truly give them autonomy in the care of their families.

Erin loves spending quality time with her family. She and her husband lead international mission trips and serve in youth ministries. Her hobbies include hiking, snowboarding, playing music, attending concerts.

The birth of a baby truly changes lives and Erin believes that no matter if it’s the first child or fifth, for a woman it’s another crucial new beginning! That is why she is truly excited to be welcomed onto The Birth Center team. A place where the whole person and family is not only cared for but helped and encouraged to be completely autonomous for the care of their body and child.

Megan Jones BSN, RN

Megan Received her Nursing Degree from The University of Delaware Nursing Class of ’07. She started her nursing career with Christiana Hospital in their Shock Trauma ICU for 6 years before changing her career path to Women’s Health.

In 2013, Megan took a position with Union Hospital in their Labor and Delivery Unit before beginning her new endeavor with us at The Birth Center in 2016.

Megan and her husband Michael have 4 children; Charlotte, Georgia, Felicity, and Elliot. She and her family live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and enjoy hiking, kayaking, and homesteading on their small farm.

Anna Lauer BSN, RN

Anna started her nursing career after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 2016. She has a wide range of nursing experience that includes ICU, ER, primary care, home care, and labor & delivery. Anna is a joyful and compassionate patient advocate who believes in providing sensitive, trauma-informed care, and ensuring informed-consent is received at every step of the health journey. She has a passion for natural birthing, and is honored to be able to come alongside women during this vulnerable, miraculous process. Anna loves to encourage, strengthen and care for women emotionally, physically, and spiritually as they release tension and move into fortitude and empowerment to bring forth life into the world. She is so excited to join The Birth Center family, and is grateful to be a part of this sacred journey of life.

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